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Calls for Entries ITFS 2026 – German Animation Screenplay Award, Animated Games Award and Trickstar Business Award

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) 2026 will take place from May 5 to 10, 2026. It focuses on artistic animated films and the promotion of young talent. In addition to the feature film competition (submission deadline January 15, 2026), additional categories are now open for submissions: the German Animation Screenplay Award, the Animated Games Award Germany, and the Trickstar Business Award.

The German Animation Screenplay Award recognises outstanding screenplays for feature-length animated films. The goal of the competition is to honor the central role of professional screenwriters in the creation of outstanding films and to encourage the development of exceptional stories for animated films.

The Award for the Best Screenplay for a Feature-Length Animated Film comes with €2,500, sponsored by the Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart (AMCRS).

The Award for the Screenplay with the Greatest International Market Potential is endowed with €2,500, sponsored by our CREATORS from SOLA MEDIA.

For the best screenplay award submissions are possible in German and English, for the market potential award submissions are only possible in English. 
Submission Deadline: February 1, 2026 | Regulations | Submit here

The two awards will be presented on May 7, 2026, as part of the AniX Awards.

Stefanie Larson with Peter Keydel, Producer of the Best Screenplay at ITFS 2025, “Miss December and the Moon Clan”
Jens Opatz (Authors) and Matthias Drescher (Author, Producer): Winner Screenplay with the Greatest International Market Potential ITFS 2025, “Nessie Junior“

The Animated Games Award Germany is endowed with €5,000 and is sponsored by MFG Baden-Württemberg. It targets developers of high-quality video games who have their primary or secondary residence in Germany.

Eligible for submission are completed games for commercially available platforms that were released after January 1, 2025. The top five games will be nominated for the GameZone and showcased to the public during the event.
Submission Deadline: February 15, 2026 |  Regulations | Submit here

The Trickstar Business Award honours the best innovative and groundbreaking business model for a particular project or a company in the field of animation. The prize of €7,500 is sponsored by the Verband Region Stuttgart and will be awarded on May 7, 2026, as part of the AniX Awards.

Submission Deadline: February 25, 2026 | Regulations | Submit here

Winner Animated Games Award ITFS 2025: Slow Bros. GmbH with “Harold Halibut“
Winners AniX Award ITFS 2025, all photos: Reiner Pfisterer

The Winners of the AniX Awards at ITFS 2025!

The first award winners of the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) 2025 have been chosen: In a joint awards ceremony – the AniX Awards – the German Animation Screenplay Award and the Trickstar Business Award were presented on the evening of May 8, 2025 at the Festival Centre in the Haus der Katholischen Kirche.

Award winners and nominees, juries, and sponsors AniX Award ITFS 2025, Photo: Reiner Pfisterer

The prize for the best German screenplay for an animated feature film in the amount of € 2,500 sponsored by the Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart (AMCRS), goes to “Fräulein Dezember und die Mondschein-Bande“ (“Miss December and the Moon Clan”) by Lisa Fechner (Producer: Peter Keydel, Production: Mistral Filmstudio GmbH)

From the jury statement: Miss December is a loving, exciting, and funny Mary Poppins story, paired with magic and scary moments. Based on an Italian children’s book by Antonia Murgo, Lisa Fechner succeeds in crafting the dialogues in a fresh yet profound way. The plot is exciting, humorous, quirky, and has the necessary nostalgic feel, reminiscent of Charles Dickens’ stories and quirky families à la Wednesday and Hotel Transylvania.

The Award for the Screenplay with the Greatest International Market Potential is endowed with €2,500, sponsored by SOLA MEDIA – and the winner is Nessie Junior (Authors: Matthias Drescher, Jens Opatz, Producer: Matthias Drescher, Production: FFL – Film und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg GmbH & Co. KG)

From the jury statement: The story of the young sea monster Fin, who teams up with 13-year-old Kellina to uncover long-buried secrets about his origins, impresses with emotional depth, narrative strength, and a compelling sense of storytelling. […] Nessie Junior addresses universal themes such as friendship, identity, family, and the search for belonging – topics that resonate across cultures and are relevant to audiences worldwide. The legendary figure of Nessie is internationally recognized and sparks curiosity and empathy across generations, especially among family viewers. […] With Nessie Junior, Jens Opatz and Matthias Drescher have crafted a heartfelt, original, and internationally accessible story with the potential to become a beloved favorite among audiences worldwide.

The jury consisted of Solveig Langeland (Founder and Managing Director, Sola Media GmbH, Stuttgart), Jørn Precht (Author, Screenwriter, Professor for Storytelling, Hochschule der Medien, Stuttgart), Ron Segal (Author, Screenwriter, Berlin), Holger Weiss (CEO & Founder, Executive Producer, M.A.R.K. 13 Group, Stuttgart) und Silke Wilfinger (Founder & Owner, SILKWAYFILMS, Munich).

Winners Jens Opatz, Matthias Drescher
Matthias Drescher, Annegret Richter (ITFS), Solveig Langeland (Sola Media), Jens Opatz
Stefanie Larson (AMCRS), Winner Peter Keydel
Matthias Drescher, Jens Opatz, Solveig Langeland (Sola Media), Silke Wilfinger (Silkway Films), Peter Keydel, Holger Weiss (M.A.R.K. 13), Jørn Precht (Hochschule der Medien), Ron Segal

The Trickstar Business Award, the prize for the best innovative and forward-looking business model in the animation sector in the amount of € 7,500 sponsored by Verband Region Stuttgart, goes to SYNK by ThePack (CEO: Jan Hameeuw) – a real-time content generator and workflow management system that creates synergies and enables a huge increase in the efficiency of 3-D productions.

Congratulations to all the award winners!

ITFS 2025: Nominations German Animation Screenplay Award and Animated Games Award Germany

ITFS Award Statue, Photo: ITFS, Reiner Pfisterer

The Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (May 6-11, 2025) not only awards animated films, but also honors screenplays, projects & business ideas, and German video games.

The German Animation Screenplay Award recognises outstanding screenplays for feature-length animated films. The Award for the Best Screenplay for a Feature-Length Animated Film comes with €2,500, sponsored by the Animation Media Creators Region Stuttgart (AMCRS). The Award for the Screenplay with the Greatest International Market Potential is endowed with €2,500, sponsored by our CREATORS from SOLA MEDIA.

The nominees are:

  • Die Schule der Schurken / The School of Villains (Author: John Chambers)
  • Fräulein Dezember und die Mondscheinbande (Author: Lisa Fechner, Producer: Peter Keydel, Production: Mistral Filmstudio GmbH)
  • Nessie Junior (Authors: Matthias Drescher, Jens Opatz, Producer: Matthias Drescher, Production: FFL – Film und Fernsehlabor Ludwigsburg GmbH & Co. KG)
  • Treasure Island (Authors: Florens Huhn, Sophia Bierend, Producer: Frank Geiger, Production: Little Dream Entertainment GmbH)

The awards will be presented as part of the Anix Awards on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 19:00 CET. The Trickstar Business Award will also be presented during the ceremony. Earlier that day, at 13:00 CET, Jørn Precht (Stuttgart Media University) will speak with the nominees for the German Animation Screenplay Award about storytelling and the development of their nominated scripts (To the event).

The Animated Games Award Germany is endowed with €5,000 and is sponsored by MFG Baden-Württemberg. It targets developers of high-quality video games who have their primary or secondary residence in Germany.

The nominees are:

  • Harold Halibut (Slow Bros.)
  • Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (Happy Broccoli Games)
  • MINI MINI GOLF GOLF (Three More Years Studio)
  • Songs of Silence (Chimera Entertainment)
  • PRIM (Application Systems Heidelberg)

More about the nominated games. The Animated Games Award will be presented during the Award Ceremony on Saturday evening, May 10, 2025. Festival visitors can try out the five nominated games in the GameZone, located at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.

Source and more information

Fingers crossed for all the nominees!